Graham Plant, Yarmouth Borough Council cabinet member for regeneration and tourism, said: “The announcement will be absolutely marvellous news for the town for the regeneration and jobs it will bring.

THE government is expected to confirm plans for a new regional casino in Great Yarmouth.

Graham Plant, Yarmouth Borough Council cabinet member for regeneration and tourism, said: “The announcement will be absolutely marvellous news for the town for the regeneration and jobs it will bring.

“Now we will have a nice beauty parade of the various operators looking to bring casino-based leisure developments to the town.

“We have already seen one - The Edge - put forward by Albert Jones at the Pleasure Beach and another for The Conge being proposed by the owner of the town's new Palace Casino. And we could even have three or four operators proposing schemes for the same council-owned site on the Golden Mile. More schemes are sure to come forward.

“We are talking about £35m to £60m schemes which will provide the biggest boost for Yarmouth since the war. We can start looking seriously at them to determine which will be the best in terms of providing regeneration and all-year-round jobs.”

But Mr Plant cautioned that all the legal hurdles meant it would probably be two years before the council would be in a position to name a casino operator.

Albert Jones, who unveiled his proposed development, The Edge, before Christmas, said: “The news comes at a good time as we are submitting our detailed plans to the borough council next week. The casino development will represent the biggest creation of jobs in one hit - 1,000 - in Yarmouth's history.”

Borough council head of regeneration Tim Howard said: “This is a brilliant opportunity and we must make sure we maximise the economic, environmental and social benefits for Yarmouth in the long term.”